


Dawn Child

by Fai_Gensou



Series: Blessings of Eos [5]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy XV
Genre: child!prompto, divine!aerith, omg i have fanfiction of my fanfiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-02
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-12-10 01:47:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11681463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fai_Gensou/pseuds/Fai_Gensou
Summary: Where Aerith couldn’t walk away; Prompto Argentum becomes Prompto Gainsborough.It’s said that a butterfly flapping its wings can cause a typhoon on the other side of the world. Just how far will this decision change things?





	1. Split

Dawn Child  
Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Don’t own Final Fantasy.

* * *

Aerith hugged Prompto tight to Her, unwilling to let go after telling him of the bomb inside him. She knew what She should be doing, letting go and bestowing a Blessing, before taking him to the checkpoints.

But She couldn’t.

Truth be told, She was weary. Weary of endless travel, of the same dramas replayed over and over. She remembered all those She helped and all those She failed, but far too often the only thing that changed in the dramas were the names and faces, and their reactions.

She could split Herself in fragments. She could raise Prompto and still help people.

The more She contemplated this option, the more convinced She became. The Lifestream hummed in the back of Her mind. It did not find fault in Her logic. In fact, it almost seemed pleased with this act of independence.

Finally She pulled back, still on Her knees. “I know I said I’d have to leave you when we reached Insomnia…but would you mind terribly if I stayed with you?” She asked him.

“Of course I want you to stay!” He exclaimed, before his face turned downcast. “But won’t you get in trouble if you do? What about the tasks that only you can do?”

“I can split Myself in fragments. It just occurred to Me that I could do those tasks and stay with you at the same time.” She explained.  
Biting Her lip, She continued. “I know you’re still getting used to being ‘Prompto Argentum’ but…would you like to give ‘Prompto Gainsborough’ a try?”

“’Gainsborough’?” He asked.

“My last name. When a child loses their parents, they can be adopted by someone else, and their last name is changed to that of their new parents.” She elaborated.

He was quiet as he considered this. “So…does that mean I could call you ‘Mom’?” He asked, his face full of hope with a touch of fear.

She felt tears well up at his questions. “Yes. Yes it does.”

Prompto leapt back into Her arms with Her answer, Opal kweh-ing in the background. “My Son.” She whispered.

Something seemed to shift at Her Declaration. But right now it was insignificant compared to the ball of sunshine in Her arms. Reluctantly She pulled back enough to stand and pick him up. “Let’s go that bomb out of you, okay?”

Beaming, Prompto just nodded.

* * *

Aerith sank into the chair next to Prompto’s bed. It had been a long day, but with Prompto out of surgery and done with the questioning, She could stop worrying as much.

Regis and Clarus shared a look when She informed them that She would be adopting and raising Prompto. “Welcome to parenthood. Be glad you skipped the diaper stage.” Clarus told Her wryly.

“We can discuss the more practical matters in the morning.” Regis told Her as they departed.

Clarus had forgotten that since She had raised the first ten generations of humanity, parenthood was an old hat.

Pulling out a notebook and a pen, She started making up Her to do list as the lead surgeon entered. “Miss Gainsborough?”

“Please, call me Aerith.” She told her as she sat down in the chair next to Hers’. “Dr. Argentum, right?”

Doctor Eleanore Argentum nodded. “The bomb disposal team is going over the item we removed from Prompto; you’d think the Solstice had come early with as excited as they are.”

“An intact Niflheim bomb? Of course they are.” Rolling Her neck, She asked, “How long will Prompto have to stay?”

“If everything is healing smoothly, three or four days, although it will be a month or two before he’ll be cleared for the full range of normal activity. His healing was accelerated, so I halved the numbers for the average times.” Dr. Argentum explained.

“That’s good to hear. I need to go house-hunting. It’s been a long time since I’ve stayed in one place long enough to need a house.” Aerith commented. “Wonder where the best place to start is?”

“Well house or apartment, you probably won’t be able to get one by the time he’s released. Ideally the stress of moving should be held off until he’s fully healed, barring the trip from here to wherever you’re staying.”

Aerith blanched. “A hotel won’t let us stay that long. Plus it will be busier than would be ideal for Prompto’s recovery.”

“You could with my husband and me.” Dr. Argentum offered. “I’d have to double-check with him, but we have plenty of space.”

“I wouldn’t want to intrude on you and your family.” Aerith said, already of half a mind to accept.

“It’s just Michael and myself.” A hand came to rest on her lower abdomen. “Children…just weren’t in the cards.” Dr. Argentum added.

Looking at her, Aerith read in her Life energy what she meant. She also saw what would have been. She placed Her hand over the doctor’s on her abdomen. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help them. And that I couldn’t answer your Prayer.” She told her.

Dr. Argentum felt her breath catch in her throat as she took in the sight of this young woman. While this woman could conceivably know of the children she had lost, there were only three people who could know of her Prayer.

Her husband, who had suggested it.

Herself, having made it.

And the Person to whom the Prayer was directed.

Taking in Aerith’s appearance, she connected the dots. “I…like to think I’m old enough to accept that not everyone can be saved. And…that not all prayers…get an answer I want.” She whispered, turning her hand to grip Aerith’s.

“I can find somewhere else to stay, if it’s too much.” Aerith whispered back.

Dr. Argentum-Eleanore-just shook her head. “No, please…stay. I’m just stuck on that I offered the Dawn Mother a place to stay.”

“I’m not as impressive people seem to think. Mostly I live like everyone else, barring not aging and constantly traveling.” Aerith protested.

Eleanore found herself rolling her eyes. “So giving people flowers and them not realizing until the next is something everyone else does?”

“I confess; I love watching people’s reactions when it hits them.” Aerith started giggling. “Though nothing quite equals when I told Regis and his companions who I am. Despite having watched me take down five Iron Giants at once.”

Eleanore tried picturing His Majesty and his Shield Clarus with anything but a dignified look on their faces and ran into a mental brick wall.

Calming Her giggles, Aerith brushed Prompto’s bangs to the side. “If I had been strong enough to walk away he’d have been yours. If I Saw right, his genetic mother was your half-sister through your father.”

“Don’t you mean birth mother?” Eleanore asked with a frown.

Aerith shook Her head. “To start the infection at the right time in a controlled way they have womb tanks where the embryos are placed. The ‘parents’ just donate the necessary bits.”

Eleanor grimaced. “That’s a bit…”

“Cold? Assembly line like?”

“Both.” Eleanore stood. “I should go talk to Michael. I don’t think he’ll have any problems but I should double check.”

“I can meet up with both of you in the morning, after Prompto wakes up.” Aerith proposed, moving the other bed in the room closer to Prompto’s.

“Most of the anesthesia would have worn off by now, so he should just be naturally sleeping.” Eleanore said as Aerith laid down, reaching a hand over to hold Prompto’s. “Good night.”

“Good night.” She replied as Eleanore dimmed the lights in the room.

Taking in his aura, She noticed the black in it had dramatically decreased, and sparkles floated along the edge. The black was still the densest where the bar code was, but even that seemed to have lessened. Smiling to Herself, She closed Her eyes to doze and float in the Lifestream.


	2. Awake

Disclaimer: Don’t own Final Fantasy.

* * *

The first thing Prompto was aware of was that it was quiet. Quieter than he was used to. He also felt oddly still, like he had been in motion, but he hadn’t realized it until the motion stopped. Groaning, he opened his eyes.

It was dim in what appeared to be a medical room. There was a tube sticking out of his left arm connected to some sort of bag on a hook. He felt weird down where his thing was, but it wasn’t important after he looked to his right.

There was a hand on top of his own. Following the arm up, he saw Miss Aerith-Mom- asleep on the other bed, having moved it as close as possible to his own bed. Shifting a little to look at Her without turning his head, he became aware of a dull ache across his belly.

The bomb.

The last thing he was sure of was putting on some sort of smock thing that opened in the back, the pain in his belly slowly growing. The lady had been checking same things the doctors back there had, but she kept up a commentary of what she was doing, which was baffling. He remembered being warned before something called an ‘IV’ was put in his left arm (he guessed that’s what the bag was for) and the sense of something cold flowing into him.

It felt like no time at all had passed. Why had they made him sleep while they took the bomb out?

Mis-MOM (this would take a bit to get used to) rolled over onto Her back and stretched. His hand felt cold after Her hand moved, but Her looking over and smiling at him was great too. “Morning Prompto. How are you feeling?”

“Kinda ache on my belly. And it feels weird where I pee.” He told Her.

“They don’t want you moving too much for the first few days, so they put in something so you don’t have to get up to pee.” She explained, moving to sit in a chair by the bed.

“I’m not gonna have to stare at the ceiling the whole time, right? Cuz there’s nothing interesting up there.” Prompto was not going to enjoy the next few days if ‘moving too much’ included ‘sitting up’.

She held up some kind of plastic rectangle with buttons on it. There were two arrows pointing up and down, with a bent line between them. “Hospital beds can move either at the top of the bottom. So you can ‘sit up’ without stressing your belly too much.” She explained as She hit the up arrow.

He jumped a bit when he started moving up, but things were a lot more interesting once he could see the room properly. Sunlight filtered in through blinds over the window on his right. Noticing his eyes on the blinds, She stood up and went over to the blinds.

He couldn’t really see anything out of the window from the bed, but the room didn’t feel as shut in with the blinds open. It reminded him that he wasn’t in that cold dark metal place anymore.

There was a knock on the door, opening to reveal a blonde woman with a clipboard. She kind of looked like the woman from his dream, but with her hair twisted up on her head and with what he thought were called ‘glasses’ on her face, there was enough differences for him not to be too reminded of her. “Good morning you two.” She said as she walked over to the bed with a smile. “I’m Dr. Argentum; I took the bomb out.”

“I’m Prompto. I was ‘Argentum’ too, but now I’m ‘Gainsborough’.” He answered.

“Dr. Argentum is going to let us stay with her and her husband once you’re well enough to leave here while you finish healing and I look for a house.” Mi-Mom explained.

“Wow, really? That’ll the second time I stayed at someone’s house. Mr. Cid lives over his garage, so I don’t think it counts.” He beamed up at her. “Thank you!”

Her smile seemed to turn a little sad. “You’re welcome Prompto. How are you feeling this morning?”

“I kinda ache on my belly, but not until I started moving around. And it’s quieter, but I didn’t realize there was a noise until it was gone.” He answered, running his fingers over the blanket.

He didn’t recall having a blanket the last time he had been in a medical room like this.

Dr. Argentum pulled over some kind of table on wheels over that would fit over the bed, placing the clipboard on top. There was an outline of a person with stuff inside. “This shows the different organs inside your torso.” Drawing lines from each, she labeled them and said the names. “Now the bomb had been nestled at the top of the intestines, with attachments onto the liver and the bottom of your stomach. To take it out, we had to remove the attachments from your liver and stomach. There was some attachment to the intestines, but that was small compared to the main attachments. The stomach ones weren’t overly difficult to remove, but we did have to remove a part of your liver.”

“Is that bad?” He asked.

“The liver is kind of special; it can regrow itself to some degree, and can repair it without scar tissue. There shouldn’t be any complications on that end. Normally, the scar tissue that would form as the area where we removed the bomb would cause problems, but with how your healing was enhanced, there may not be scar tissue.” She explained.

“We’re not a hundred percent how your healing compares to the average person, so we’ll be learning as we go.”

“Can I eat anything? I’m kinda hungry.”

Dr. Argentum shook her head. “You’re on a liquid diet for a few days, to not over-stress your organs. So broth, water, and Jello.”

“What’s Jello?” He asked, not recognizing the word.

“It’s a kind of dessert. You mix a powder into hot water and chill it for a few hours. It wiggles.” Mom explained.

“When can I get out of bed?” Prompto asked, wondering just how long he’d have to stay put. He was already itching to get up.

“Maybe tomorrow afternoon. We don’t want you staying in bed too long or it’ll be harder to move when you do get up. So when we check your incision tomorrow afternoon, we’ll get you up and see how you do. After that it will be as much activity as you can handle. And by handle I mean ‘stop if you start hurting more than an ache.’” She told him with a stern look.

“Yesmam.” He said almost out of reflex.

She didn’t seem as mean as the other doctors he had seen before, and even her stern look seemed to be more out of concern of him hurting himself than because she had to put up with an injured unit.

“The nurse will be in soon with some breakfast and to check your heart rate and blood pressure. Don’t be worried if you drift off; you may still feel some of the effects of the anesthesia and what we’ve added into your IV to help with the pain can make you sleepy as well.” The doctor added as Mom stood up. “I need to talk to Dr. Argentum and her husband about the arrangements and get some paperwork. I’ll be back later, alright? I’ll be staying with you in the room until you’re ready to leave.” Mom said with a smile, kissing his forehead. “See you in a bit.”

He echoed the statement as the two women left the room. It didn’t take long for another woman to come in with a tray with a couple bowls on it. He ate as she did the same things the other woman and the people back there had, with the same running commentary as the first woman here. The ‘broth’ tasted like the roast he had at the chocobo post, and he spent a good ten minutes moving his spoon back and forth watching the Jello move.

His stomach as full as much as he was allowed, he found himself yawning. Finding the rectangle, he pressed the arrow to put the bed back down. He tried to turn to his side and curl up to sleep, but he stopped when there was a pulling sensation on his belly and the dull ache flared into a sharp pain. Giving that up, he settled down as well as he could, not really comfortable going to sleep on his back but not having much choice.

At least he could move if he really needed to, not like when his leg was broken and they strapped his hands and feet to the bed to keep him from scratching.

His last thought as he fell asleep again was wishing he had asked for something to hold onto as he slept, since he couldn’t hold onto his mom for now.

* * *

Michael was vaguely skeptical when Eleanore told him about the Dawn Mother Herself agreeing to stay in their house with the child She was adopting. He was unable to maintain that vague skepticism upon meeting Aerith. “I thought stories like this never happened these days.” He commented, unable to deny the truth.

“I never wanted to be worshipped, so I don’t draw attention to Myself. It’s why I stepped back and let the Astrals descend. I hardly consider Myself divine.” Aerith said, sitting with Michael and Eleanore in a small generic office.

“If You don’t see Yourself as divine, how do You see Yourself?” Eleanore asked, curious.

The Dawn Mother was the best known and the most mysterious of the Creators. The best known because She raised the first ten generations of humanity, and the most mysterious because there were no origin stories for Her. She brings the first dawn to humanity and never changes.

Suddenly the generic office was replaced with what could best be described as rivers of pale green energy out in space. “This is the Lifestream, from which all life flows and to which all life returns. From My perspective, I am a kind of Avatar of the Lifestream.” She explained, cupping motes of green energy in Her hands before the office came back into view.

Michael and Eleanore shared a discreet look. They both had gotten the impression that She was lying to Herself about Her divinity. But that was neither here or there.

“I must insist on paying our share of household expenses while we’re staying with you.” She said.

“How? I mean-“ Eleanore slapped a hand over her mouth.

It had been terribly rude to ask that, even if Aerith had been a regular person.

Aerith didn’t seem offended. “I AM on Crownsguard payroll. Well, ‘Aerith Gainsborough’ has an account where the paychecks go. I’m just not limited to going to a bank or teller machine in person. Plus I know where to find all sorts of valuables. Money is no problem.” She said. “Most people in Crownsguard think ‘Aerith Gainsborough’ is a name passed down from one woman to another, possibly mother to daughter. Even with photographs confirming My appearance never changes, it’s more believable for it to be an inherited legacy instead of the truth.”

“This will be an experience to say the least.” Michael commented to Eleanore after Aerith left to pick up the reams of ‘necessary’ paperwork and things to keep Prompto entertained during his hospital stay. “Do you think She realizes the truth?”

“If She does, it’s not something She consciously acknowledges. She could probably destroy the Astrals with the blink of an eye. It may be Her way of clinging to Her humanity.” Eleanore mused. “I get the feeling meeting Prompto made Her realize She was existing and not living, if that makes any sense.”

“Strangely enough, it does.” He answered.

* * *

“Why in seven hells do all government agencies require so much paperwork?” Aerith grumbled to Herself as She eyed the foot-high stack She had to complete.

It didn’t matter that She could do it in the blink of an eye. It was still a ridiculous amount.

Sighing, She stored it away before heading out to a nearby toy store.

* * *

The first thing Prompto saw when he woke up was a chocobo on the table. His bed had moved back up as he slept, so the chocobo was eye-level.

It wasn’t a real chocobo, but made out of something that reminded him of fur and was really soft to the touch. Pressing a finger on it and pushing down, something gave way under the pressure, but when he took his finger away, it went back to the way it was. It was white like Opal was.

Picking it up, he rubbed his cheek against it, reveling in the feel. He didn’t know that anything could feel so soft and smooth! “I see the stuffed animal is a hit.” Mom commented.

Looking to his left, She was sitting in a chair, the other table in the room pulled over with an impressively high stack of papers. “What’s all the paper for? And ‘stuffed animal’?”

“This-“ She said with a jab of Her finger “-is all the things I have to fill out to adopt you. Only maybe like ten percent of this stack is actually necessary, but bureaucracies require ridiculous amounts of paperwork to accomplish anything. Why I don’t know.” Setting Her pen down, She rubbed Her eyes. “A stuffed animal is what you call a toy like that. Cloth is sewn into the shape of an animal, and fluffy cotton is ‘stuffed’ inside so it can keep its shape.”

“Woah…” He couldn’t help squeezing his new chocobo stuffed animal closer. “I’ve never had a toy before. I guess the small guns they started us on wouldn’t count.”

“No they wouldn’t.” She affirmed, reaching for something on the floor. “I got some other stuff to help you pass the time while you’re here.”

There were a few books; ‘Child’s Guide to Insomnia’, ‘Classic Illustrated Fairy Tales’, ‘Kindergarten Math’, ‘Kindergarten Spelling’, & ‘Chocobos’. The ‘Chocobos’ book was kind of weird compared to the others; the pages were rougher than in the other books, and it was completely pictures, only without colors. “How come this one doesn’t have any colors?” He asked, slowly turning the pages.

“It’s a coloring book. You color in the pictures yourself with these.” ‘These’ turned out to be sticks of color labeled ‘Crayola’. “You color in with crayons. A goal, beyond enjoying yourself, is to keep the color inside the lines.”

“That sounds kinda hard.” He said, cautiously testing the crayons on the inside cover of the book.

“They have ones for adults to do which are really complicated.” She held up one with a REALLY complex design on the cover. “The math and spelling ones are to help get you ready for school. I’m hoping to get you into school for the fall semester, which starts in September, three and a half months from now. As that gets closer I’ll get the rest of the books you’ll need so you know where the rest of the class is when you join.”

“…it’s okay for me to have all this?” Prompto asked quietly, taking everything in. He couldn’t put it into words, but all of this had to cost a lot, between the bomb coming out, staying here, and now what would have been called ‘unnecessary items’. They had terminated units if they cost too much, like if they kept getting hurt or were always breaking stuff.

Mom smiled at him, impossibly gentle and sad at the same time. “Of course.” It took some finesse, but She managed to join him on the bed, holding him close while minding the tubes and his belly. “I’m not costing too much?” He whispered, voicing his concern.

“No. You’re not. You deserve nice clothes and toys and books, not just because you need them, but because every child deserves them.” His mom whispered back. “I have a bunch of birthday and Solstice gifts that I owe you, and plenty of things to enjoy with you. You are worth it”

He buried his face into Her as best he could, and did his best to repeat Her words to himself. “…keep holding me?”

“Always.” Mom- _his mom_ -whispered, kissing the top of his head.

* * *

Eleanore and Michael paused outside the door to Prompto’s room. They had coming to introduce Prompto and Michael, but seeing the pair sleeping on the bed gave them pause. Eleanore pulled out her phone and quietly snapped a picture. “How is it that I’m the photography buff but you take more pictures than me?” He quietly asked.

“Because I don’t set up my pictures like a professional photo shoot. I just take pictures of cute and adorable things.” She retorted.

Aerith opened an eye, but seeing that they were not going to disturb them, closed it.


End file.
